Clin Med
-
Recent court cases in England and Wales have refocused attention on patients' decision-making capacity to consent. Little is known about the prevalence of incapacity across specialities but decision-making capacity is likely to be overestimated by clinicians. The aim of this systematic review is to estimate the prevalence of incapacity to consent to treatment or admission in different medical and psychiatric settings, and compare the two. ⋯ A considerable number of medical and psychiatric patients lack capacity to make treatment and assessment decisions. Clinicians should be more alert to the possibility that their patients may lack decision-making capacity. Assessment of capacity should be frequent using the appropriate legal frameworks to act in the best interest of patients.
-
Review
Physical restraint and the protection of the human rights of immigration detainees in hospitals.
Immigration detainees, like prisoners, are entitled to the same standard of healthcare as non-detained patients. When hospital attendance or admission is required, the priority for custodial staff (who for purposes of this article we refer to as 'escorts') is to prevent absconding. ⋯ Clinicians have professional obligations to all their patients and must object to any restraint methods that risk damaging the patient's right to confidentiality, treatment, health or the therapeutic relationship itself. The starting presumption is that restraints ought not to be used during treatment and only in the most exceptional cases ought escorts to be present during clinical examination or treatment.
-
Multicenter Study
Deciding when physicians are unfit to practise: an analysis of responsibilities, policy and practice in 11 European Union member states.
In 1974, the European Economic Community established mutual recognition of medical qualifications obtained in any of its member states. Subsequently, a series of directives has elaborated on the initial provisions, with the most recent enacted in 2013. However, greater movement of physicians across borders and some high-profile scandals have raised questions about how to prevent a physician sanctioned in one country from simply moving to another, without undermining the principle of free movement. ⋯ However, some key features, such as the involvement of professional peers in disciplinary panels and the involvement of courts in criminal cases, are similar in most member states studied. Given the variation in the regulatory context, individuals and processes involved that is illustrated by our findings, a common understanding of definitions of what constitutes competence to practise, its impairment and its potential impact on patient safety becomes particularly important. Public disclosure of disciplinary outcomes is already applied by some member states, but additional measures should be considered to protect medical professionals from undue consequences.
-
Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a systemic inflammatory condition that may involve any organ in the body, including the kidneys. However, renal parenchymal lesions are not seen frequently and the treatment strategy remains unclear. We describe a case of IgG4-related renal mass, which resolved spontaneously. ⋯ A careful 'watch-and-wait' approach was taken and at six months following initial presentation, the patient's symptoms had fully resolved and inflammatory markers had normalised. Repeat MRI showed almost complete resolution of the mass. We propose that a careful 'watch-and-wait' approach could be considered as an alternative to immune suppression for IgG4-related renal masses, especially if they are not causing symptoms or organ compromise.